--and that is vitamin B12, which is essential and which the human body cannot break out of non-animal sources, unlike some of our animal cousins. We simply do not have the proper stomach or intestinal length to do that.

So, while I agree that human beings are often encouraged to consume too much protein in general and too many animal products in particular, anyone who is not having any animal products in the diet--and that includes dairy products and eggs--needs to supplement with B12, preferably a methylcobalamin or adenosylcobalamin form, in case one has genetic problems with the methylation cascade: there are fewer metabolic hoops for the cobalamin to jump through when taken in these forms as opposed to the standard cyanocobalamin form usually sold (and you don't want cyanide radicals running around your body anyway).

B12 deficiency is common even among carnivores as they get older--our levels of intrinsic factor noticeably decline with age--and vegans and vegetarians really do need to supplement from the get-go.

Thanks for your input. Your knowledge is extraordinary. I thought I'd discussed B12 earlier in the thread, maybe it was elsewhere, so thank you.
B12 supplementation as far as I am aware should be at the heart of all self therapy for Peripheral Neuropathy whatever diet you are on. However as you point out there are few Plant Based sources of B12 (due to decreasing soil quality.) We cannot make B12. Meats and milks of herbivorous ruminant animals are good sources of B12 for humans. Ruminants acquire their B12 through a symbiotic relationship with bacteria inside their microbiomes. B12-producing bacteria are located in ruminant stomachs.

These are common Plant Based sources of B12 that I am aware of and my experience of them.

Nutritional Yeast.
Algae/seaweed.
Fortified Plant Milk (soy, almond, coconut, rice)
Fortified breakfast cereals.
Tempeh.
Mushrooms.

I sprinkle Nutritional Yeast on my food that is fortified with B12. I sprinkle Mara Seaweed and also Green Nori ( sea vegetable condiments) Unusually for Vegan Food all of these taste nice! The latter are also rich in Iodine, an element Vegans can be low in. I don't touch plant milks or breakfast cereals but I do add Spirulina to my porridge. I take Algae Oil Vegan Omega 3 DHA and EPA because a Plant Based diet can be low in Omega 3. My experience with Tempeh is tiny. I eat mushrooms regularly. I consider them superfoods.

This video covers B12 and a Plant Based Diet.

I personally take 1000ug of methyl cobalamin daily

What foods contain vitamin B12? | NutritionFacts.org

Just hearing a favorite MD on my radio and a woman called in about the severe P.N. and he asked her all the questions, did you do nerve systems etc and she said yes, and doc had given her gabapentin which she didn't like and got off it and then he gave her cymbalta and said "this is an anti depressant and got off it.

My doc said "get off most of the carbs/sugars and that will start with the changes needed.

The woman was clueless as she didn't hear any of this info from her MD. When asked what A1C number is she said 5.9, the doc said too high.

You people know all this but good repeating.

Just thought I'd chime in a little on my experience with a 7 1/2 year battle with idiopathic full body neuropathy. While I still don't know the exact underlying cause, I do know that with 100% certainty what goes in my mouth directly affects the severity of my symptoms.

I think there's little doubt at this point that my body is producing histamine in response to whatever it is I eat that it finds offensive now, and isolating the "whatever it is" has been a great challenge, but I've dramatically improved my symptoms avoiding the things I know are involved now.

I've had a full allergy work-up, and the only thing of interest that showed up was a high histamine level in my blood. I don't have any food allergies that resulted in an IgE response.

The fact that my problem is food-related is also why my symptoms worsened during the day, and I always felt best in the morning (and when I fasted).

While I'm still symptomatic, I'm at least relieved that I have some control over the severity of my symptoms.

janie

I'm realizing more and more being constipation keeps neuropathy going. I've worked on constipation all my life and at 82 and getting older and now dealing with neuropathy from hip replacement surgery and other stuff...cleaning up the diet, eating more bran (oat bran added to soups) and now with the addition of a stool softener when I go to bed, the neuropathy is so much less.

Constipation, Distended stomach, Numbness or tingling and Numbness or tingling: Common Related Medical Conditions

Think about this if neuropathy is stubborn, clean out the colon. Get rid of lots of sugars too, but the stool softener is just what might be needed...

Hey Janieg ,

I would like to hear more of your story and what foods you feel help you and what foods make things worse for you.
This is a thread about diet and PN after all and your experience and knowledge will be most welcome. Have you tried intermittent fasting?

Atty

Hi Atty,

Sorry for the delay in responding. I thought I had notifications turned on for this thread, but didn't.

I've really, really struggled with figuring what foods are my triggers...and figuring it out by trial and error.. But to answer your intermittent fasting question, I kind of do that by default. I've never been a breakfast person, so not eating for 16 hours isn't hard.

I try to avoid or minimize all of the following:

- overly salty food
- any aged, smoked or processed meat
- leftover meat
- canned food
- non-homecooked food

Basically, I try to eat fresh food (low in histamine) with minimal salt. That's what helps me most, and I have no explanation for why salt may be involved.

One thing that is really abnormal about me that I apparently just got used to is that I will often get congested after I eat something savory. This was huge clue that histamine was at play, but I completely missed it. Of course the ramp of neuro systems followed.

Because histamine is inflammatory, I've been a flaming ball of fire for 7 1/2 years. A sinister side effect of it (I think and hope) is that I've developed inflammatory nodules in my lungs that are growing. I've had a biopsy that came back "non-diagnostic," which means there was no obvious sign of cancer, but it still could be. (My dad died of lung cancer at 42 which is a complicating piece of data.) The thoracic surgeon wanted to go in right away and remove the largest of the nodules so a better pathology could be done on it, but I've begged for another 3 months so I can continue doing everything I can to reduce the inflammation and maybe get the nodules to start decreasing in size. I feel so much better, that I'm hoping that's happening. We'll find out when I have next CT scan.

Needless to say, I'm very motivated to watch what I eat, take ever anti-inflammatory supplement I can think of, exercise religiously (which I hadn't been doing), and also take digestive enzymes before I eat anything because maybe, just maybe, it will help.

All I can do is cross my fingers on that.

I have had lung nodules for 17 years now. after 14 years i had a mediastinal biopsy and it turned out i had sarcoidosis, which had spread all over my chest and abdomen. It turned out that sarcoidosis was also the cause of my peripheral neuropathy, Since you have peripheral neuropathy also make sure your nodule is tested for that,if you do have the biopsy done.

i wouldnt recommend waiting to get the biopsy, it may give you some peace of mind and if it does turn out to be cancer, the sooner you address it the better.

Hey janieg,

Thanks for your reply. I wasn't aware of the link between histamine and PN. I have found the links below online which may be of benefit to you and other readers. But I can't help thinking the advice from echoes long ago is the most important.
Sorry for my ignorance here and the first link below shows the sheer complexity of histamine in the body, but can't anti histamines help you?

https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley....nerve%20injury.

Antihistamines for Nerve Pain?

Diamine Oxidase (DAO): Benefits, Dosage, and Safety

I wish you well and keep us posted of your progress.

Atty